Fabric(ated lies)
by ChidiIsASoupChangeMyMind
Summary: Based off of miraculous-of-salt's MDC au. Lila brags about knowing MDC, a famous but anonymous fashion designer, not knowing its Marinette. Some Alya salt, some Chloé redemption included and oh my goodness I hate Lila. First fic so I hope it's ok . Rated T for some strong language.
1. Idk what to call this chapter

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH FASHION DESIGNER MDC!

GABRIEL AGRESTE'S TAKE ON FASHION BRAND MDC

WHO IS MDC?

...

MDC-the anonymous fashion brand that anybody who was anybody knew about and wanted. Boutiques ran out of their clothes in minutes. Celebrities showed off their commissioned works. Even Gabriel Agreste was interested in this new competitor.

They had become a sensation overnight, after Jagged Stone flaunted a jacket they had made for him at an interview.

"They are such a lovely person-they didn't expect any pay, just handed it to me as a gift. But you see this embroidery don't you Nadja? It's gorgeous and they did it all by hand-it must've taken them weeks! So I gave them a fine cheque and rushed out before they could decline."

The next day, E-Mails from celebrities asking for commissions came flooding in after the interview.

Marinette could handle it-her parents helped clear out the spare room so she could have her own sewing space. She had magazines strewn across the desks and designs plastered on the wall, hidden by fabric draping around them. Her sketchbook lay proudly on a table along with several pencils and pens of varying colours-her most prized possessions (aside from her miraculous).

What she couldn't handle was a borderline sociopathic Italian claiming to know her.

"Oh yes of course I know MDC, I actually was the one who introduced them to Jagged Stone! I found them making the very jacket Mr. Stone was wearing last week, and told them to go and give it to him, which he wanted to do but was too scared to."

Alya gaped at her in awe. "That is so sweet of you Lila, you really are so caring."

"Thank you so much Alya, I could get you an interview with them for the Ladyblog-Ladybug and Cat Noir looked so cool in those outfits he designed!-but they are very shy so don't hold your breathe hun"

"Really? Yes please-that'll get my views back up! You're the best!"

Marinette was tired of trying to convince her friends that they were going to get hurt. She had warned them about Lila's lies, but whatever.

"Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous," a sneering blonde said, taking a seat at the back next to Marinette. Alya had come up to her earlier and asked/told her that she needed to sit at the back as Lila's tinnitus was back and she needed a spot at the front.

She could've at least _pretended_ to care.

"If even _you_ can see through that idiot's lies, then our class really is full of imbeciles,"Chloé stated.

"Why do you care?" Marinette responded.

"Sabrina prefers her over me. Can't she just take those rose-tinted glasses of hers off and fact check for 5 minutes?"

"Amen," Marinette said, too quietly for anyone to hear, staring at Alya whilst doing so, who was just gossiping with the brunette.

"No way!" She heard Alya squeal.

"Yes, MDC asked me out at the weekend! It was really sweet, but you know about me and Jagged Stone's secret son. I wish I could've said yes but I couldn't do that to either of them, so I let them down gently," Lila said from across the room.

"Oh come on!" Chloé whispered to Marinette, "At least she could make it believable. Number 1-isn't Jagged Stone's son that cute Luka boy that has a crush on you? And number 2-I know for a fact you're still going after my Adrikins, you would never ask that worm out."

Marinette dropped her pencil in shock. How did she know?

"Oh come on don't act so surprised. Mummy told me all about your mini fashion empire after she visited you. And besides, you aren't exactly _subtle _about it-your sketchbook has MDC in the cover, they're your initials, you are constantly looking at your designs in magazines which by the way-there is only room for one narcissistic bitch in this class and that role has been filled, although she's making it feel a bit cramped," Chloé said, staring at Lila pointedly.

"Have you told anyone?" The dark-haired girl queried.

"Do you really think that highly of yourself that you think _I_ would willingly talk about you?" Chloé snapped. She caught herself before insulting the designer further, and continued.

"Sorry, still pissed about Sabrina," she choked out. Apologising to former(?) enemies was not easy.

Marinette nodded in understanding, telling her old(?) bully it was ok. She broke a macaron in half, and offered part of it to the blonde.

"Um calories? No thanks."

"Symbol of truce, just take it, tap mine to show a _possible_ friendship being formed and _then_ you can throw it away," Marinette explained.

Chloé rolled her eyes before taking one half, gingerly toasting to a truce before handing it back and walking away to wash her hands in disgust at the sugar coming off her fingers.

At least Marinette had one person to bitch about Lila to.


	2. Hopefully it works this time!

**Note-Thank you for the positive feedback so far! Someone asked if I would review their story, and I will absolutely get around to that when I have the time. Another person asked about the embroidery, and ummm, I really don't know! Maybe a skull or something with smaller images on the sleeves? Also, I did upload this chapter earlier several times but it wasn't working and kept on coming up with code so I deleted it but hopefully it will work this time. Now onto the chapter (that I had no plan for)!**

MDC RELEASES SPRING LOOKBOOK!

SAPPHIRE CREDITS MDC FOR HER NEW SKIRT

WHO IS MDC?

...

"She tried to tell me that Ladybug would come if I hopped around on one leg and chanted her name! She must think I have as low of an IQ as Adrien has flaws!"

"She threatened me in a bathroom _30 seconds_ after telling me she would help me get closer to Adrien! What the fuck?!" Marinette yelled. Who knew screaming about sociopaths could be so therapeutic?

The unlikely pair were sitting in Marinette's sewing room ("I want to see the hole MDC calls a "design room""), venting about their classmate. It was lunch and despite Chloé complaining about the calorie count, once a croissant had been shoved in her mouth (curtesy of Tom), she soon shut up and began wolfing down various chocolate filled pastries, managing to say "don't you dare tell my mother Dupain-Cheng" between mouthfuls.

"I doubt Jagged Stone even knows what a kitten _is_, let alone had one for her to save!" Marinette said over the noise of the sewing machine.

"Ok Marinette, I get your pissed but I'd rather not have the only thing you have over that snake go to pieces after 3 weeks because you're screwing up that seam," Chloé said, gesturing to the fabric getting caught in the whirring machine.

...Shit.

...

Once lunch was over and Chloé and Marinette had finished spending the rest of the hour tediously unpicking the shrivelled fabric, they returned to school. They talked about MDC's next project on their way in, catching the attention of a certain blogger.

"I think that if the print on this skirt was incorporated in it, it would look really pretty," Chloé remarked pointing to the magazine she was carrying.

"Why are you talking to Marinette?" Alya sneered, walking over. She glanced at the magazine cover, noticing the golden "MDC" logo studded on a skirt.

"Oh, you're talking about MDC. Jealous that someone actually has talent while you still don't?"

Marinette bit her lip. _Had her bestie always been this rude?_

Chloé didn't care. She just rolled her eyes and in a bored voice replied, "I ain't got time for your shit Césaire, and neither does Marinette, now why don't you back off and suck up to Lila liar, rather than bothering us."

Alya was slightly taken aback by this. She wasn't surprised by Chloé's reaction, but by the implications that a) Lila was a liar and b) that Marinette preferred Chloé's company to hers.

"Lila is not a liar! Just because you're jealous of her life, boyfriend and connections does not mean you have to bully her right off the bat! She has enough problems to worry about as it is without your issues concerning her. Let's go Marinette."

Marinette stood still, disregarding the blogger's orders. She didn't want to listen to Lila's praises being sung when they were wrongfully earned.

"No," she replied timidly, "Chloé's right, Lila is a liar and is cheating you all out of your time and money. Until she stops, I'm not being around her."

"For goodness sake Marinette, can you stop trying to tear her down because she had a crush on Adrien-she's dating MDC now! So just let it go and give her a chance girl. If you did she could introduce you to her bf. She's got enough problems and disabilities without having to deal with your attitude."

"Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. MDC isn't dating her, and is far too prestigious to even care about her," Chloé interjected.

"You're talking like you know him, but fine. Once you two realise that Lila is the best thing that's happened to this class, you'll both come running back. Until then, have fun and enjoy being alone, because everyone loves Lila," the brunette said , before turning on her heel and flouncing away.

Chloé tutted and pulled out her phone. "How you managed to be friends with her for so long is a mystery worthy of bloody Sherlock," she remarked, rolling her eyes so much it was a wonder to whether she could see the inside of head or not.

Although privately agreeing, Marinette said nothing, merely gazing at the pair of brunettes chatting across the court.

Noticing her friend's silence, Chloé said, "Let her go, your brand is more important. So, how about this pattern?" Returning to their previous conversation.

They entered the classroom, which was instantaneously silent. Lila sat in her seat sobbing quietly, Alya patting her on the back in reassurance.

Death glares.

Everywhere.

"I can't understand why you hate me so much Marinette! Calling me a liar and saying I'm cheating our classmates! I've been nothing but nice to you and yet you despise me!" Lila blubbered.

"Why are you so jealous of her?"

"She's so sweet!"

"Maybe it's because of the seating plan again. Maybe, I should swap places with her. I don't want to be a bother"

There was an outburst at this. The class was divided into people who were comforting Lila, and people who were confronting Marinette.

She could've at least made it less I'm-a-goody-two-shoes-from-the-1900s-please-feel-sorry-for-me. She was like a really shit version of Mary Poppins.

Chloé did not have time for this bullshit, and dragged Marinette to the back, shoving Kim out of the way and causing Max's glasses to break. She opened her phone and called someone, holding her hand up in Marinette's face when she tried to question her.

"Excuse me,"a purple haired girl murmured.

Marinette's eyes popped at Juleka but slid along the bench to make room nonetheless.

"I'm not a theatre critic, but I do know when someone's over-compensating for something, and when you sob over that rumour you're definitely lying. Besides, if you're going to vilify someone, try anyone but Marinette Dupain-Cheng if you want people to believe you," she mumbled, looking with distaste at Lila.

Marinette was about to open her mouth to thank her (slightly surprised that the shy girl talked for so long), but the blonde's next words caught her attention.

"Thanks mummy, MDC will appreciate it," Chloé said into the phone, before hanging up and glaring at Juleka accusingly.

"I'm not very useful, but it's always nice to have someone on your side. Also, you're MDC? Not shocked really," Juleka continued.

"I thought you'd be more surprised," Marinette replied.

"Fucks sake Dupain-Cheng, like I said, you're not exactly subtle," the blonde cut in.

The designer shook it off and turned to her.

"What are you saying I'll appreciate?" She queried.

The blonde's mouth curved into a sinister smile.

"Just you wait my little MDC, just you wait."


	3. Still no clue how peeps name these

**Note: Wooo wooo chapter three here we are! Hope it's good for you guys. I now have a plan so this should go well but I can't predict the future. Sorry about it coming up in code (again).**

MDC DESIGNS NIGHTINGALE'S NEW TOUR OUTFITS

AUDREY BOURGEOIS ON MDC

WHO IS MDC?

Chloé, Juleka and Marinette lounged on Juleka's boat during lunch. Chloé loudly complained about anything and everything whilst Juleka adjusted her hair in the mirror and Marinette furiously designed. Fashion week was coming up in 4 months and she was hoping to be included. All her designs must be perfect.

"None of these necklines look right and I have no one to test these designs on!" Marinette cried, sounding downright distraught.

"Calm down hun, it's not like anyone important is going to see them," Chloé said, her mean girl streak coming through.

Juleka glared at Chloé. She may be shy, but the Couffaine death stare was in her blood.

Chloé was unbothered. "I'm a mean girl Juleka, remember? This is me being sweet. Just be thankful you came to your senses and joined the good side. Otherwise a look like that would get you banished from Paris."

At that moment, Juleka's older brother Luka walked in. He slid beside Marinette and put an arm around her shoulder. Juleka gave a questioning look at the couple but Marinette rolled her eyes at the insinuation.

"Why are you all feeling like this," Luka asked, unwrapping his arm from Marinette's shoulder and playing a melody in a minor key.

"Girl at school, Lila," Marinette replied shortly.

"Expand".

"She's a liar, a thief and has no sense of style-every time I look at her I'm like "Lord give me strength"-she's honestly tragic to look at," Chloé spat out.

"She's a worse actress than me," Juleka whispered.

Luka raised an eyebrow at this, teasingly saying "not possible."

"I tried telling her about how nice Marinette was and she started crying." The alternative girl rolled her eyes at the memory.

"Oof."

"Yeah."

The four sat in silence, pondering over what to do. Luka quietly played Marinette's tune, and Marinette tapped her fingers along.

"Who do we know that doesn't take anyone's shit and can stand up to her?" Marinette asked.

"Dunno, but until then you've got a fashion show to do so get cracking. If those designs aren't perfect then your company will look ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!" Chloé remarked.

After school, Marinette sat in her design room sewing a flowing pink dress. She planned on embroidering roses at the bottom, and having rose clasps to do it up. She hummed along to Jagged Stone's song that was to be released next week, but that she had a copy of, courtesy of him.

"Honey! Your friends are here!" Sabine called.

"Send them up please!"

A few seconds later, the door opened dramatically as Chloé sashayed in.

"We got another ally!" She announced, as a girl with short, blue hair walked in after her.

"She came up to Adrien and I after fencing, and spun a tale about how her grandfather had taught her fencing when she was younger, and how he was a famous Italian fencer. Unfortunately for her, the only Italian fencer to have existed in the past 100 years that's actually been _successful_ died in the 1930s," Kagami explained monotonously.

"Afterwards I, being the God-given angel I am, was in the park at the time and grabbed her to tell her about our club," the blonde bragged.

"Club?" Marinette raised an eyebrow. She wasn't aware of this "club".

"The "I want to shove Lila Rossi's lies so far up her ass she'll be repeating them for weeks" club," Chloé answered, as if it were obvious, Kagami nodding along silently. "We thought of the name as we were walking over."

"I can tell."

"She keeps on bloody draping herself across my Adrikins, acting as if she is worth anything. The only females I "respect" enough to allow within 5 miles of him are you two and Juleka, because she's obviously got it bad for Rose, and you're-." She cut herself off in order to not insult or compliment her only friends. Which of the two was worse she did not know.

Kagami smiled at this. _If only she knew their relationship was coming up on 3 months..._

Marinette caught the Japanese girl's eye and they both bit their lips and turned away as to not give away their secret.

Unfortunately, this plan did not work out.

"Oh would you look at that, my bullshit radar has clocked you two!What're you not telling me," Chloé said, folding her arms.

"Kagami and Adrien are..." Marinette trailed off, but gave Chloé a look that told her enough.

The heiress shrugged. "Whatever, he'll come running back to me in a bit."

Marinette's eyebrow was raised again at this, but her attention was soon diverted by her mother.

"Marinette! Your Uncle Jagged's here!" Yet another call came from downstairs.

The three girls heard the sound of hard leather stomping upstairs quickly. The rock star bounded into the room, holding two envelopes and a large bottle of lemonade. He thrust the letter into Marinette's hands.

"Open open open them!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"What is-"

"Shut up and open them Dupain-Cheng!" Chloé yelled, with similar energy to Jagged, eyes wide.

Marinette shrugged and carefully peeled open one of the envelopes. She pulled out a letter, embellished with the Paris Fashion Week logo.

She unfolded it and read out loud, at Jagged Stone's request.

"Dear MDC,

By request of Audrey Bourgeois, you are invited to attend and participate in Paris Summer Fashion Week, taking place on the 11th of July. Please notify us as soon as convenient on whether or not you will be attending. The first fittings will take place 13th June. If attending, please notify us of how many models will be needed, and arrive with all pieces at 11:00.

Yours sincerely,

Mollie Svenson.

Director of Paris Fashion Week"

"We did it Jagged we did it!" Chloé exclaimed hugging the rockstar. Both were jumping up and down, and Jagged wrapped Kagami into the hug, who awkwardly stayed very tense at their expression of emotions.

Marinette was in shock. She never applied, nor did she expect to even get chosen!

"But I didn't finish my-"

"Your Uncle Jagged worked some magic and said he would advertise fashion week if my favourite niece was included, whilst dear blondie here submitted copies of your sketchbook and got her mother to work her own magic!" The rockstar explained.

Chloé beamed, proud to have been mentioned by the star.

"What does the other letter say?" Kagami asked, staring at the second envelope.

Marinette placed the letter on her desk, and opened the second one.

"Dear my darling Marinette,

As you know I'm a highly prestigious figure in the fashion world, so everything I advise you to do is what I think should be in your best interest.

Personally I think being an anonymous fashion designer is an excellent move, both for your personal and business lives. But now is the best time to reveal who you are to the world. It will create more anticipation for the event and for your brand and any other time would be ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. Thus you should announce that you are revealing your identity at fashion week and then follow through. I'm making Mollie put you down for the last show of one of the days.

Please take my advice darling, and I hope to see you soon, and at fashion week.

Audrey Bourgeois xxx"

Apart from Chloé mumbling about how mummy has never sent her a letter, there was silence.

"So should I do it?"

"You're joking right? Oh for fucks sake you imbecile of COURSE YOU'RE DOING IT!" Chloé said.

"But-"

"When my mother says you should do something, it means she's already done everything to make it happen and you're doing it-this just means you can't sue her for forcing you."

Marinette processed this information, and reached for her phone.

She had a couple of calls to make...

**And so the plot thickens! Btw this isn't going to be a Lukanette fic and Adrigami isn't going to be the main focus, just mentioned once or twice.**


	4. What is even going on 2020?

**Note: I know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about Fashion Week, Fashion Shows, Models or Catwalks, so please excuse me if I get anything wrong from here on in.**

MDC TO BE REVEALED AT PARIS FASHION WEEK

MDC'S NEW LINE TO BE SHOWN AT FASHION WEEK AND GABRIEL AGRESTE IN AMERICA

WHO IS MDC?

"MDC's so excited! He was really nervous about it, but I pushed him to follow his dreams!"

"You must be the best girlfriend in the world to him!"

"You are so sweet Alya. You know what? I'm sure I can get you tickets to Fashion Week! They're reserved for only the most important people in fashion, but I'm Gabriel's favourite model and MDC is my boyfriend! I'll definitely get you a pass."

Chloé and Marinette rolled their eyes simultaneously, whilst Kagami gazed longingly at a sword trophy hung on the wall. _What she wouldn't give to wield that right now. _Juleka was in the corner of the cafeteria on the phone with Rose, who was at home. They were having a hushed argument, what about the others couldn't tell, but Juleka looked close to tears.

"If people weren't such bullies to you, you would get them passes wouldn't you?" Alya said, a little too loud for it to be solely aimed at Lila.

"Oh yes. If they were to apologise now I'd happily offer them a ticket," Lila responded at the same volume, turning her head towards Marinette's table with an innocent expression. Alya glared at the trio, daring them to turn the offer down.

"Shove it up your ass, Rossi," Chloé shot at them, before turning back to her gluten-free dairy-free meal.

"I hope you're not expecting us to do anything for Lila, Césaire. She should be grovelling to Marinette," Kagami replied, challenging Alya's daring look.

"Lila is willing to put everything you've put her through behind her, and start afresh, and is offering you tickets to fashion week which I know you want Marinette, and you're _still_ trying to play the victim?!" Alya cried.

"A) We don't care, b) She's a liar, and c) We're busy on Fashion Week and have our own passes thank you very much, so kindly fuck off Alya," Marinette explained.

"Wait you got the tickets!" Chloé exclaimed. Marinette nodded in reply, which resulted in Chloé squeezing Kagami in excitement.

"Don't be shocked if that falls through. You'll be at home crying over your "friendship" whilst my bff and I sit in the front row, and afterwards _I'll_ be the first to interview MDC," Alya bragged, having clearly expected them to react.

It was at that moment that they all finally noticed Juleka. She had slunk in besides Kagami unnoticed, tears spilling out of her eyes. She was clutching her phone, eyeliner streaming down her face.

Marinette reached across the table and patted her arm, whilst Kagami held her hand to comfort her. Even Chloé gave a sympathetic look at her, putting her ever-present phone away. Juleka was rarely seen crying, the only other times were when she was akumatised. Lila noticed the change in tone and attention, so walked over to the situation, putting on her best sympathetic look, copying Chloé's.

Juleka sniffled. "Rose said that-that she hates me. And that-if I can't appreciate Lila, then maybe we shouldn't talk anymore," she choked out.

"What's wrong with me?" Lila feigned confusion.

"Nothing-you're an angel. Marinette is just trying to brainwash everyone so she's the centre of attention again, this is probably one of her tricks to try and get everyone in her side" Alya said, glaring at the bluenette.

Marinette opened her mouth to defend herself, but Juleka beat her to it.

"Oh for goodness sake Alya SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP. YOU AND LILA ARE TEARING APART EVERYONES RELATIONSHIPS AND FRIENDSHIPS, INCLUDING YOUR OWN. SO SHUT UP! MARINETTE USED TO BE YOUR BEST FRIEND-THERE WAS A REASON FOR THAT! SHE WAS SWEET AND GENEROUS AND KIND TO YOU. SHE STILL IS ALL THOSE THINGS-JUST TO THE PEOPLE WHO DONT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE QUALITIES. CHLOÉ WAS HORRID AND BULLIED THOSE WHO REFUSED TO THINK SHE WAS ANYTHING BUT SPOILT AND STUCK UP. BUT SHE CARES-UNLIKE LILA! KAGAMI IS CLOSED OFF TO THOSE WHO REFUSE TO GET TO KNOW HER-BUT SHE'S SWEET AND BUBBLY TO HER FRIENDS. YOU-YOU AND LILA ONLY WANT ATTENTION AND FAME. YOU BOTH GET IT THROUGH LIES AND MISLEADING PEOPLE. LILA THROUGH HER STORIES AND YOU THROUGH YOUR STUPID STUPID BLOG. SO JUST SHUT UP AND LEAVE EVERYONE ALONE. JUST SHUT UP!" She screamed, floods of tears streaming down her face.

Everyone was silent. No one thought she could speak that loudly or for that long. Juleka shot both Alya and Lila her infamous death glare.

"Now if you don't mind, I'm going out with my friends-not sure if you've heard of the concept of friendship-it's where you don't leech off each other and you respect one another. So please do us a favour and never try to speak to us again. Goodbye," she continued, before storming out of the hall to the music of the liar's sobs.

"Save it Rossi-wait until Fashion Week. My daddy's going to _love_ this when he hears about it," Chloé finished. She and the other two at her table gave identical glares, before running after a sobbing Juleka.

When they caught up with her, they gave her a group hug, Chloé desperately trying to smear any remaining eyeliner back into place, with limited success, Marinette drying her eyes with her sleeve and Kagami awkwardly attempting to fix her hair.

"I just-I just thought that Rose would believe me," Juleka whispered, hugging herself.

"Let's go to my daddy's hotel, okay sweetheart? We'll get you sorted out there, and we can have some ice cream. I get him to call school and get us all the afternoon off, so we don't have to put up with them, and we can watch a nice film, does that sound good love?" Chloé calmed her down softly. "Let's call my limo, and Jean-whatever-his-name-is can come and get us, in the meantime, why don't we hang out at Marinette's?"

Juleka shakily nodded her head, and they all moved slowly towards the bakery.

15 minutes later, the four of them were lounging in Chloé's suite, shovelling pints of chocolate ice cream into Juleka, and putting on a Disney film.

"Why can't she just fuck off occasionally? It's a wonder you didn't get akumatised."

"Mother says that if she was targeting me personally, that I would have a right to kill her."

"Bit drastic isn't that Kagami?"

"Not if it isn't for justice Mari, no."

"I'll take your word for it."

Marinette continued to sketch. She had enjoyed giving her ex-friends presents in the past, and she was determined to reclaim that fulfilment. Chloé wasn't focussed on her at the moment, so she could concentrate on drawing a dress for her, on a piece of paper that was usually locked in her desk. It was wrinkled and smudged, but the short golden dress looked beautiful nonetheless.

"We ready to watch this then?" The blonde asked, peeling her attention away from the box that she'd been cramming the disk into for the past 5 minutes.

They all nodded in agreement, and Marinette shoved the sketch into her pocket. She could work on it later.

"Where's the bully squad?" Alya yelled to the class. Lunch was over and lessons were about to start, and Marinette, Chloé and Juleka has still not shown up to Bustier's class. Kagami was in Mendeleiev's, but they assumed she was absent too.

The class murmured in collective realisation, all except Lila, who made herself stand out staying silent, and noticeably avoiding eye contact by bowing her head.

"What's the matter?" Alya questioned, giving Lila all the attention she needed.

"It's nothing it's just that... I got a text from Marinette threatening me-saying that she-that she was going to take all of my friends away," she choked out, crocodile tears falling down her cheeks.

"Don't worry-we'll never abandon our friend for a liar or a bully, we'll stick by the people we know are right," the class chorused.

_Oh the irony_.


	5. STAY SAFE AND INSIDE PLZ

**Note: I'm sorry this is late but I've just had no ideas/been depressed recently-sorry!**

**You may have noticed that in Chapter 1, Lila claimed to have turned MDC down for Jagged Stone's son, but has been recently claiming to be dating MDC. We're going to call it "Lila being inconsistent with her lies" rather than "me forgetting what happens in my stories".**

**Also! People have asked me why there wasn't an Akuma-if you look at the news headlines/blog posts at the beginning of the chapter (which is what those are in case you're confused), Gabriel was in America at the time, so he couldn't akumatise poor Juleka. I'll update that chapter soon to make it clearer. I won't really include Akumas in stories because I am dreadful at writing battles, sorry xxx**

NIGHTINGALE ON MDC'S IDENTITY

MDC IDENTITY THEORIES

WHO IS MDC?

"So we'll meet up for an hour at daddy's hotel after school every Thursday-agreed?"

Kagami, Juleka and Marinette simultaneously nodded their heads. Kagami had offered to teach them all Japanese, as she had no one other than her family to talk to and very little in common with the other girls.

"Anyway, now that Marinette has _finally_ showed up," she digressed, giving Marinette a playful grin, "shall we enter the gates of hell?"

"Of course," Kagami responded, offering her arm, which Chloé took, and the 4 formed a chain as they strutted into school. Well, one of them did, the other 3 kept their heads down as to not attract attention.

When they reached the door to Bustier's class, they blew Kagami kisses as she left to go to Mendeleiev's. As they entered the classroom they realised 3 things.

1\. Lila was crying (how much water is this girl drinking to be able to cry this much?)

2\. There was a crowd around Marinette's desk.

3\. They were looking for something.

The trio exchanged confused looks, before turning their attention back to the scene, unnoticed.

"She told me she would get me fired from Gabriel, and said she stole my designs!" Lila choked out.

The 3 friends could almost hear one another think "oh, for fucks sake."

"Don't worry girl, when we find her sketchbook she'll be exposed," Alya reassured her.

The crowd continued to search the desk for Marinette's sketchbook, ignoring the evident fact that it was not there, which was apparent if one looked briefly over the table. Marinette sighed, and pulled out the sought after object from her bag. She sat down and gazed over some old designs, twirling a pencil from the teacher's desk in between her fingers, still invisible.

Seeing as she was not going to be noticed, Chloé cleared her throat loudly to gain everyone's attention, walking up to her and Marinette's desk.

"In case you are all blind, which going by the fact half of you are wearing glasses I assume you are, you are in the wrong seats. You are also searching an empty area. Seeing as Marinette, Juleka and I are currently in possession of the singular brain cell our class has, we clear our desks out frequently. And seeing as you are all so fucking stupid we are on the brink of drawing pictures to get you idiots to understand us, I'm going to kindly point out that Marinette's sketchbook is over there, with Marinette, who is being productive, unlike you fuckwits. So kindly buzz off, you cavemen."

The class went silent, some avoiding Chloé's gaze, a little embarrassed they had been caught. Others glared at her in annoyance, Alya included, who decided to represent them.

"Lila is a victim of theft, and in order for Marinette to be held accountable and punished, we need evidence. So we are commencing a full on investigation."

Chloé pulled out her phone, trying to entertain herself as this was clearly boring for her. "How many police shows have you been watching Césaire? You can't do shit to my little bundle of sunshine, if you do I'll call my daddy who will incidentally have you under fire for harassment, invasion of privacy and if I'm lucky, slander. And seeing as you didn't understand me the first time..." she scribbled on a piece of paper nearby, "Buzz off!" She yelled, holding up a quick sketch of a bee.

The crowd dispersed, all muttering angrily about Chloé's speech. The blonde bowed over-dramatically to her friends, presenting their abandoned desks, to which Juleka and Marinette bounced up to.

"So...I'm a little bundle of sunshine am I?" Marinette teased.

"Complimenting you is my second biggest regret. Not punching Alya in the face so hard her stupid glasses pierce her skull is first," Chloé muttered causing Juleka to giggle as she overheard the conversation, Mlle. Bustier coming in a little late to hear/reprimand them.

—-

"How many models will you be needing?"

"I already have models who's parents have agreed for them," MDC answered.

"And how many looks will you be showcasing?"

"13, and I will be showcasing the final one and then revealing my identity."

"Thank you MDC, we cant wait to see who you are!" Mollie Svenson exclaimed.

"Thanks for giving me this opportunity!"

—

"Ok, I'm out for tonight. If I can't even properly pronounce "how are you" in Japanese then I am _fucked_!" Chloé exclaimed. They were all hanging out at the hotel trying to learn from Kagami. Chloé sprawled out on the bed with Juleka, whilst Marinette lay on the floor, her head in Kagami's lap.

"Anyway, how're things with Adrien going?" Juleka asked Kagami, propping herself up on her elbows.

"I swear, if you hurt my Adrikins in any way I'll shatter that little fencing body of yours," Chloé threatened, copying Juleka's actions.

Kagami scoffed. "I'd like to see you try. You'd end up buried-in several different places!"

Chloé smiled at her. It was nice to have someone blunt and dangerous on her side. Kagami smirked back.

"You still haven't told us! Spill!" Marinette yelled.

The four gossiped for hours, about Adrien, Juleka being Luka's (aka Jagged's secret son's) half sister, and of course Lila and MDC. They passed out on top of each other, Kagami falling asleep in Chloé's arms, Juleka nuzzling in her shoulder with Marinette hugging her.

—

"He did what!"

Meanwhile, at Alya's house, Lila was lounging on the sofa gossiping to Alya, Mylène and Rose-Alix was having a midnight swim race with Kim with Max officiating so couldn't make it.

"That is it! Rose-I get that he's your main guitarist but he cannot do that!"

"I agree, if he is swayed by Juleka then he shouldn't be part of the band," Mylène commented.

"And that's not all-he called me one night and said that I threatened Marinette and that he would beat me up if I came near her. It was really scary," Lila whimpered. Rose squeezed Lila's shoulders in comfort.

"Of course-Marinette just had to make herself the victim didn't she. I can't believe we were friends with her-she has a massive crush on Adrien so is leading Luka on to try and make him jealous. As if she'll ever have a chance with him-the only person worthy of him is you Lila, but you've already got about 3 boys clambering to date you," Alya praised.

"How is MDC by the way?"

"Oh he's the sweetest-he took me on a date last week and we kissed in the rain!" Lila bragged.

"Wait when? It was hot and dry last week?" Mylène recalled, confused.

"Oh yes, he... took me out of Paris and the weather was different. He didn't want our date to be interrupted by an Akuma-he's so thoughtful!" Lila stammered in reply.

The girls gushed over the "tall, handsome and blonde," designer Lila had snatched up, oblivious to her smirking at their stupidity.

"Anyway let's not spend all our time talking about my love interests. What drama does everyone have?" She asked, trying to draw anything out of the gossips.

"Well only the Marinette-Chloé-Kagami-Juleka drama. What did you even see in her Rose?" Alya disgustedly asked.

Rose stiffened a little. "I don't really know-she was nice to me in my defence! But you were best friends with Marinette so I'm not that bad!" She reasoned. A little part of her still felt tenderness towards the beautiful emo, but she buried that under a strong belief in Lila, and that she had shown her who her true friends were.

"Wait-since you were bffs with her, you should know all her secrets-we could use those to drag Juleka and Luka away from her!" Lila realised, acting completely shocked.

"Oh Lila you're right! Well-here is everything that dear old Marinette is trying to hide from us..." Alya responded, rubbing her hands together in glee of spreading rumours.

Lila smirked.

_Well this was going to be fun..._


	6. WHY IS ADRICHAT A THING?

FASHION WEEK TO SHOWCASE NEW GABRIEL COLLECTION

AGRESTE BACK FROM NYC

WHO IS MDC?

...

"Wait why does she leave class all the time again?"

"I don't even know-she's really secretive about that. It's always during anything Akuma related though," Alya replied.

Lila's mind lit up. She noticeably furrowed her brow and shifted, trying her best to look "uncomfortable", despite having no frame of reference for the emotion, being the sociopath that she was.

"What's the matter?" Mylène asked, noticing Lila's_ oh so subtle_ body language.

Lila stuttered. "It's probably nothing it's just that-that one time I was in the bathroom and heard her talking about Hawkmoth to herself, and um her-her tone wasn't very disapproving is all I'm going to say," she lied, bowing her head in false meekness.

Rose gasped at the news. "She wouldn't do that! She's not the type of person!"

"I knew you guys wouldn't believe me!" Lila exclaimed, choking on false tears. "That's why I didn't tell anyone before! Oh now you're going to leave me-Marinette was true to her threat!"

Alya squeezed her shoulders to comfort her, before turning to Rose. "Marinette is a lot of things that we didn't think she was since she became jealous of Lila-and besides-it's not exactly past her to side with the bad guy going by her track record," she reasoned, reminding everyone of her friendship with Chloé. Rose hummed in agreement, still uneasy.

"Anyway!" Lila exclaimed a little loudly considering it was 3am, brushing away her "tears", "What else do we know about her?"

"Ugh, she has an obsession with Adrien. She tries to cover it up as "love for his personality", but now I think she's really just a gold digger." Alya rolled her eyes at the thought.

Mylène gasped. "Do you think he'll be in danger?"

Lila looked shocked. "We should warn him-he could be in danger. Especially if she might be working for Hawkmoth! Besides, we'll be getting back at her, for manipulating you into thinking she was nice, so either way it's a win!" She decided. The girls nodded in agreement at this, causing Lila to smirk for a split second. _Dupain-Cheng's world is going to come crushing down._

—-

Rose shuffled to school, trying to make herself as late as possible as to not get into this. The building was about 30 feet away, but it didn't stop her from trying. Luka and Juleka were walking towards it, as was Ivan, and the scene she was about to create was not going to be pretty. Luka greeted Rose as their paths crossed, Juleka looking down awkwardly.

"Hi, um, Luka, Juleka, can I speak to you both?" She stuttered out.

The siblings shared puzzled looks. "Sure," Luka answered, in time for Ivan to catch up to the trio.

Rose stared at the ground, petrified. "Well, uh, we've decided that, um, your behaviours towards Lila concerning Marinette are not acceptable and um, uh," she fumbled, trying to recall the script Alya forced her to memorise. A comforting hand was placed on her shoulder.

"You two are now no longer part of Kitty Section until you become nicer people" Ivan finished for her, glaring at the astonished pair.

"But-we're your guitarists-how on earth are your going to play Rock music with us?" Luka pointed out, puzzled.

"We don't need you, we'll find other, better guitarists. Lila says she knows a lot of famous rockstars-including Jagged Stone-who will help us. Goodbye," Ivan stated firmly, before turning to the school and comforting Rose, who had started weeping at the confrontation, and was mouthing "sorry" towards the siblings.

Juleka snorted. "Yeah, cause Uncle Jagged gives a flying fuck about Lila. Give your dad a call when we get home, he's gonna have a field day with this, and Luka? Please don't stress about the band, we'll make it work," she reassured him quietly, before hugging him goodbye and trudging up to the school.

She entered the classroom to the sweet sweet sound, of _utter bullshit,_ but was somewhat-comforted by the eye roll Chloé sent her at the sound of Rossi's lies. She moped up to the back of the class in true emo fashion, and collapsed on her desk. Chloé was opposite her, lounging with her legs on the bench and her phone in her hand.

"What's the "lie-of-the-day" this time?" She asked, brushing her purple bangs out of her eyes, still contemplating whether or not she wanted to know the answer.

Chloé perked up, simpering look, back straight and batting her eyelids in mock innocence, her voice shrill and high. "Oh Alya, you'll never guess what! I pulled a few strings and MDC gave me two front row tickets for me and you! Isn't that just great! He said he'd give you an interview as well!" She mocked, immediately slumping back in exhaustion from imitating the liar for more than 3 seconds. Juleka snickered at her impersonation as Marinette crashed through the class in time for the bell.

—-

Alya's leg bounced up and down as she stared at the clock. 1 minute until lunch. She kept glancing back at Marinette. Marinette with her smug little face and happy-go-lucky ways. _Try this for lucky Marinette._

The bell rang, and Alya sprinted out of the classroom, readying herself at the front of school for "Sunshine Boy" to arrive.

At last, Adrien finally peeled himself away from the classroom. Alya strutted up to him, her hands on her hips to assert her dominance in the conversation.

"Adrien, I need to talk to you," she demanded aggressively.

Adrien looked slightly confused at her tone, but agreed nonetheless.

"I just wanted to let you know, that Marinette-Bratinette has an enormous crush on you," she announced smugly.

The blonde looked even more puzzled. "I think you're mistaken Alya, Marinette just thinks of me as a friend-besides, why are you telling me this?" He asked.

Alya huffed in annoyance-this was not how it had panned out in her head. "Lila thinks she's working with Hawkmoth, and we wanted to warn you. Speaking of Lila, I know you like her, but she's dating MDC, who you must know, being in the industry and all, but I don't think you should give up on her! She's really sweet!" She explained.

Adrien bit his lip. "I don't know who told you that I like Lila, but I don't, and I haven't, and I won't. Besides, I like Kagami! We've been dating for about three months-in secret." He said, lowering his voice before returning to a normal volume. "Also-seeing as you thought I liked Lila, I don't really believe what you're saying about Marinette. She can't be working for Hawkmoth-remember all those times she's helped us during attacks? Besides, if she did have a thing for me, I wouldn't really mind. She's one of my closest friends! Almost all the boys in our year have liked her at some point-I'd be honoured to be liked by Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" He grinned, which, unbeknownst to him, infuriated the blogger even more.

She even almost growled at him. "BUT SHE'S AWFUL TO LILA! All those mean texts and threats! How can you still be on her side?!" Alya shrieked.

Adrien slowly backed away, confused as to what he'd done wrong. "Um, sorry Alya. But-uh-thanks for your concern?" He stumbled, falling backwards into Kagami and Chloé, who happened to be near them.

"Adrien, you're a dork-you know that right?" Chloé rolled her eyes playfully.

"Chloe's right Adrien, you may be a sweet person but you are as clumsy as Marinette!" Kagami added.

"Speaking of, she went ahead with Juleka and Luka, we're going to hang out with them on their boat! Wanna join?" Chloé offered, checking her makeup in a compact mirror as she did.

"PLEASE!" Adrien yelled, begging for an escape route from Alya and the modelling gig he was supposed to be doing now as well.

Kagami smiled in amusement. She interlaced her fingers with his and the two walked away, leaving Chloé with Alya.

"Césaire, leave my-or rather Kagami's-Adrikins alone. And our Marinette for that matter. Or you'll be finding a few lawsuits in the mail of your trashy apartment-though honestly they would make your place look as if the people living there were actually educated. Got it sweetheart?" Chloé threatened "sweetly", dabbing her lipstick.

"You all hurt my bff, imma put this on the Ladyblog," Alya countered.

Chloé smirked, irritating the brunette even more. "Ah yes, because what better way to destroy _my_ reputation than turn _your_ "blog" into even more of a tabloid?," She said, rolling her eyes and snapping the compact shut. "Now if you'll excuse me-though I don't really care if you do-I'm leaving! See ya shit-for-brains," Chloé cooed, blowing Alya a kiss before shovelling her makeup into her bag and sprinting out of school, calling for her friends to slow down and wait.

Frustration radiated off Alya, nearly attracting an akuma, but her rage was interrupted by her "bff's" sobs, who had been "accidentally" eavesdropping.

"I bet he only faked our friendship because his father wanted to get to MDC!" Lila howled, drawing as much attention to herself as possible. "Kagami must be after him for his wealth as well, she might also be threatening him-there's no way someone like _her_ could date a model. She probably doesn't want to live in her mother's shadow so is using him for fame!" She screeched, though no one seemed to question or realise that the river of tears stopped mid-sentence.

Alya tried to back her up, but with limited success. "Both of them are awful! I-"

"No! Adrien didn't like me because he had a set goal in mind that was forced upon him by Gabriel, so he didn't get to know me the way MDC and Jagged Stone Junior do! But if I spend more time with him, he'll like me as a friend!" Lila interrupted, not wanting "Liladrien" as she called it to be totally out of reach in the eyes of her squad.

"I'm sure with all the modelling you two will do in the future you will really end up liking each other and becoming bffs!" Rose simpered, cooing at the sweet image, a dramatic contrast to how her own life was going.

Lila wiped her face clear of false tears. "Perfect..." she purred quietly.

—

"Cheers to the best thing to happen to your careers!" Marinette yelled, clinking her glass of lemonade with Juleka and Luka's. They were still slightly upset over being kicked out of Kitty Section, so Marinette had spent the past 10 minutes trying to prove that this was a good moment in their careers, and thus should be celebrated, to which they finally caved and agreed.

"Wassup bitches!" Chloé yelled, strutting on deck, "guess who we picked up!" She gestured towards where Kagami and Adrien were.

"Oh heck yeah we got Sunshine Boy!" Luka shouted.

"Yes yes it's all wonderful but right now I'm out of breath," Chloé panted, collapsing in Luka and Marinette's laps. "I had to run half of the way to catch up with them and then the rest of the way to get ahead to announce it," she explained.

Marinette patted her blonde ponytail. "We're very proud," she assured sarcastically, returning to her sketchbook and lemonade. She was so close to finishing "Chloé's dress" as she called it, and her clothes for fashion week were almost entirely done apart from this one. She just needed to work out the best way to hem it. There was only a week left until fittings and her friends finding out what she had planned for them.

It was Chloe who broke Marinette's train of thought/panic (thankfully), commenting on Sunshine's appearance.

"Ugh Luka you need to convince Adrien to get a better hairstyle-I do not care whether your father is your boss, I refuse for you to go around any longer looking like the rejected member of a boy band-ridiculous, utterly ridiculous," she announced, seeming to have recovered from her lack of breath purely to insult her childhood friend. Adrien playfully glared back in mock offence.

"Join the blue squad!" Marinette encouraged, Luka and Kagami cheering at her suggestion.

"Yeah only one of us needs to be blonde anyway and I call dibs-if I can't be "class bitch" thanks to Lila then I cannot look like the female version of my bff," Chloé continued. Everyone around her knew she was secretly being sweet (somehow?), no matter what the class was conditioned to think.

"Love you too Chloé," Adrien sarcastically retorted, smiling affectionately.

"Dorks," Kagami and Juleka commented simultaneously, which was met with two pouts, Chloé opening her mouth to defend herself.

"They're not wrong Chloé, we've all seen your shrines to Ladybug-yes yours too Adrien-you're not exactly the most _subtle_ fan," Marinette said.

"It's not exactly a shrine anymore, I threw away the photos and life-size statue! It's just merch now," Adrien defended.

"You had a life size statue?" Luka asked, clearly confused at this new information.

"Yes and it was the one thing that made his collection bigger than mine but now that's gone...I WIN!" Chloé exclaimed, sticking her tongue out at the model, who rolled his eyes back at her, the two giggling.

"Going back to Adrien's hair," Juleka digressed, "I have green hair dye that washes out," she continued, in a sing-song voice.

Marinette rubbed her palms together. "Let's turn Agreste junior into an alien," she said mischievously, much to Adrien's horror. Luka rushed down to grab the dye whilst Kagami kept her boyfriend firmly in place, grinning at the look of despair on Adrien's face. Luka returned, and Juleka and Chloé started massaging the product into Adrien's hair. The only thing any of them could think was:

_"Gabriel Agreste is going to have a bloody heart attack."_

...

**Ok so that's that-next chapter is going to be pre-reveal and then the one after that-FASHION SHOW (wooooo). Also Rose and somewhat Mylène are more neutral characters, but just find sticking to their squad the easiest route.**


	7. Pre reveal! BLM

**Please: go to protests if you can, sign petitions, donate if you can, share information, educate yourself and others, support black businesses. BLACK LIVES MATTER!**

**Warning: THIS IS GOING TO BE EXTREMELY INACCURATE WHEN IT COMES TO HOW FASHION SHOWS WORK DO NOT COMPLAIN IDK!**

**Also it's quite long in comparison to my other chapters with a few things happening so fair warning, and goes in about 4 different directions so prepare to get whiplash from twisting to different topics (I'm sorry)xxx**

BEHIND THE SCENES OF FASHION WEEK

INTERVIEW WITH FASHION DIRECTOR MOLLIE SVENSON

WHO IS MDC?

...

Adrien gazed in a mirror at his now-neon hair, grimacing. Chloé cackled at the sight, high-fiving Juleka and Luka over their _masterpiece_. Adrien flicked through his memories from that day, wondering what he has done to deserve this. He didn't find an answer, but did land on a certain conversation with a reporter.

"Oh Marinette I just remembered-Alya's got it into her head that your working with Hawkmoth," he recalled, still checking himself out.

"But I would never do something like that!" Marinette exclaimed.

Chloé rolled her eyes. "Yes dear we know-you're a darling little princess who would never do anything bad-it's repulsive," she said blowing her a kiss. Marinette made a childish face back at her.

Kagami, being the only one focussed on reality apparently, called out to Adrien that his limo had located him and his driver was here. Adrien waved goodbye to the friends, snorting at the Gorilla's face of amusement and disapproval at the sight of his hair.

"Try not to get grounded!" Chloé yelled.

—-

"So is Adr-"

"-Oh yeah his father nearly shot him on sight and he can't come to school for a week."

"..."

"..."

"Shit."

—-

Marinette bounded up to her small group at the front of school, with four letters in her hand.

"Hello my beautiful friends-I have some news for you all except I don't want to face the consequences so here it is in the form of a letter!" She announced brightly, handing out their envelopes. "Please don't hate me my lovelies-bye!" She said-attempting to butter them up, before skipping into Françoise Dupont.

No sooner had she rounded the corner to Bustier's class was she tackled to the floor by two hugs.

"MDC YOU ARE AN AWFUL PERSON I LOVE YOU! JULEKA IS DOWNSTAIRS HAVING A HAPPY MELTDOWN AND I'M GOING TO BE RECOGNISED BY MY MOTHER!" Chloé shrieked, still laying on top of her.

Kagami stood up, regaining her composure and dusting off her uniform. "I am pleasantly surprised at my mother's approval, Marinette."

"You are such a great bitch for doing this behind my back you fabulous and amazing beauty!" Chloé squealed, kissing her on both cheeks, Juleka floating up the stairs in the background.

"I'm going to be a model," Juleka whispered, slightly in shock. Kagami awkwardly stroked her hair as Juleka slowly absorbed this new information.

"I think you broke her," Luka smirked as he came up the stairs behind his sister.

"So I take it that's a yes from all of you? You're going to model for me?" Marinette hoped.

Chloé facepalmed. "Oh my goodness-getting you to read signals is like trying to convince Luka that playing the guitar is not an adequate substitution for having a personality-of course we will!"

Luka tried to protest at the somewhat true insult, but one look from Kagami reminded him that "yeah-fair point" should be his only response.

Marinette beamed. "Great! Fittings are tonight, and I know it's last minute but as you know the real deal is tomorrow so get ready-so drop 'round my house at 6 and then we'll go to the venue!" She informed them, before sweeping dramatically into class.

—

"I give up-you're amazing Marinette, and unfortunately Ultimate Mecha Strike 3 is not your weakness," Luka complimented, giving her a soft smile to which Marinette blushed at.

"Yes yes she's talented and smart and pretty and honest and we're all jealous of her no need to rub it in!" Chloé playfully sneered, interrupting the sweet mood. "Now MDC, how are we getting to this place-because I know your family don't have a car. Do you want me to call Jean-Dou?" She asked, phone at the ready.

Marinette's phone vibrated. "On the contrary," she said, checking her messages. "Paris Fashion Week have sent our transportation and it has arrived apparently!"

"Good because I really don't want to speak to Jean-Michel," Chloé muttered as they ran downstairs.

Kagami arrived outside first, her slender but athletic build once again proving useful. "Marinette?" She yelled up, "since when are we greeted with a limousine?"

The other 4 made it outside and gasped at the car. It was a stretched black limo, with the Paris Fashion Week logo embellished in gold on either side. The chauffeur got out and opened the door, requesting "MDC and company". Marinette stumbled forward, presenting her pass and tickets for the driver to approve. He nodded and stood aside for her party to enter.

They arrived 20 minutes later, and gasped at the sight of the building. It was extremely modern and extremely beautiful, with a red carpet to greet the designers and models being rolled out as they pulled up. An authoritative man stepped up to the limousine and opened the door, greeting the 5 friends curtly as they stepped out.

At the sight of the entrance, Chloé threw her arms out and halted the group, screeching.

"We are going to be making MDC'S first in-person impression on the general public-I refuse to let us-or rather you lot since I'm perfect-fuck it up before those idiots have even seen her clothes! Now-let's practise how we will all get out of the limo, and after that how you will pose for the cameras because this will be in the papers and I cannot have our reputations ruined in one photo simply because one of us looks ridiculous-utterly ridiculous!" She announced, flipping her blonde locks and rolling her "r"s for emphasis. This was obviously met with eyes being rolled to the heavens, but they all obliged regardless.

After about 15 minutes of "It's more elegant though...I DON'T CARE IF YOU FEEL LIKE A PRETZEL" and "sweetie you are walking like a T-Rex, try walking with straight legs," they finally were able to exit a limo and walk down a red carpet just barely to Chloé's standards. They walked/sashayed down the red carpet for a final practise, and ended up at the grand double doors, which were promptly opened by security.

"Marinette-DARLING!" cried Audrey Bourgeois, an American lilt present in her voice. "How are you? Your pieces are through the hall. Svenson should've made MDC more comfortable in my opinion-I will have to fire her!"

The Style Queen's gaze flickered over the young designers group, recognising the blonde after a few seconds of trying to remember her.

"Oh Clau-Chloé, you're here! So nice to see you! Maybe one day I'll see you here working here and being talented like your friend Marinette. Hopefully you'll end up successful like me, but I'm not holding my breath" Audrey sighed, oblivious to her hurtful words. Kagami and Chloé both winced at her comments, reminders of disappointed parents in the past resurfacing.

"Actually Mlle. Bourgeois, Chloé is going to be one of my models! But I've got to do final fittings with her and my other models-please excuse us," Marinette said, walking away from the situation firmly, much to the Style Queen's shock.

They dawdled around the venue, slightly in awe of the sleek architecture and the beautiful models strutting around barely clothed (Juleka shielded Luka's eyes), before arriving at the dressing room.

"Ok, so Kagami, your outfits are behind this screen, Chloé's yours are here, Juleka yours are in that direction and Luka your pieces are just here," Marinette directed, slipping into a more direct speech, gesturing towards different screens for the models to change into. The four nodded and swiftly shuffled into privacy before quickly changing.

Kagami was the first done, stepping out in a deep red suit with wide trousers, a black polo neck underneath and black heels to compliment the ensemble. She struck a powerful pose-despite being new to this industry, she was still going to conquer it like she had with everything else in her life. Marinette ushered her forward and pinned where appropriate, before sending her back.

Chloé strutted forward next, tossing her hair and placing her hands on her hips. Her suit was white, with a deep v-neck blazer as well as gold jewellery and buttons to compliment her look. It skimmed her body perfectly, and she was quickly sent back with the designers glowing approval.

Juleka's purple/black blazer and pencil skirt set was slightly larger on her due to her slim frame, which Marinette assured her was good despite her initial assumptions. Marinette edited the darts in the back and sent her back.

Luka looked stunning in his dark grey suit, which contrasted his vibrant hair perfectly as per the designer's intentions. Marinette quickly ushered them all back and ordered them to try on their "everyday looks".

Kagami twirled out first again, in a short black skirt, which contrasted the larger white shirt on top and red flats. Chloé then sashayed out next to her in an oversized yellow jacket and black skinny jeans. Juleka came out in a black lacy halter top and black wide leg trousers. Luka dramatically slided out in his flared black jeans and long navy overcoat.

_If Marinette had a euro for every time she rolled her eyes..._

The final outfits were their more-formal wear. Kagami wore a bright red floor-length a-line dress, which she apparently enjoyed wearing due to it flowing around her. Juleka was in a tight long purple dress that skimmed her slender figure beautifully. Luka was next, in a deep emerald suit.

"DUPAIN-CHENG I CAN'T FIND MINE!" Chloé shrieked, clearly panicking. Marinette softly smiled, pulling out a rustling bag and passed it to Chloé. A few minutes of silence passed before she shyly revealed her look.

It was the dress Marinette had been working on since they became friends. It was a slightly shorter style than one would expect, with a strapless neckline, gloves and structured white petticoats to fill it out. It was yellow, almost gold, with black accents and bees embroidering the skirt, as a nod to her hero identity.

"Do you like it?" Marinette asked timidly.

Chloé bit her lip, then thrust herself at her best friend, tears forming at her eyes. She had her own custom made queen bee dress that was made with her in mind. She enveloped her in a bone crushing hug, kissing her on both cheeks and thanking her repeatedly. They were joined by the other three who wrapped their arms around the pair softly.

"We are so rocking fashion week-Gabriel Agreste who? Gucci who? Style Queen? NEVER HEARD OF HER," Chloé drawled sarcastically, much to everyone's embarrassment and entertainment.

This was going to be AWESOME!

—

"OMG Lila I cannot wait for tonight! I have the perfect outfit for my interview and a new camera!" Alya squealed as she entered the classroom, flashing her state of the art technology.

"I almost feel sorry for her..." Marinette whispered, which was met with a chorus of rolling eyes.

"And I almost want to punch her in the face but you don't see me pulling out the boxing gloves every time she speaks," Chloé shot back. Tonight was their fashion show and she was not having revenge ruined because Marinette felt bad about decisions that other people made. "She decides to leave you-good for her. But you are not wasting emotions on people that aren't good, or at least trying to be. If they don't care about you, then don't care about them in return and move along."

Marinette nodded and went back to daydreaming about her reveal. She had made some lace masks for her and her models to wear so that everything would be revealed at the very end. The runway would be spotless-she had already inspected it to make sure it was to her perfectionist standards (though there was little she could do about it if it wasn't). It was in a "T" shape, with the top of the "T" being the entrance, with enough space to fit her 4 friends. It was elevated, just lower than the audience's eye.

"MDC said that we just have to tell the doormen our names, that we know MDC and that you have an interview with him and then it'll be fine. He has our passes so it'll be great, plus we won't have to deal with jealous bullies," Lila said "passive aggressively", side eyeing the bully squad.

Chloé blinked at the collective glares from her classmates. "Oh I'm sorry were you talking about us? Forgive me for not noticing, or caring! But I simply assumed you couldn't see us from that impossibly high pedestal you seem to have placed yourself upon. That and the fact that I thought you had better things to do then bitch about us-guess not?"

Alya huffed, and flipped her hair to focus her full attention back on Lila.

"Cool comeback," Juleka whispered.

"Yes it is. Now tell me-exactly how long did it take you to come up with it?" Marinette teased.

Chloé turned red and stammered. "I-shut up Dupain-Cheng!" She said, crossing her arms and sulking.

—-

"TOM! SABINE! SHE'S DOING IT AGAIN!" Chloé yelled down the stairs. She was referencing Marinette, who would be on the brink of hyperventilating if it weren't for Luka's music. She was panicking: over the fashion show; the reviews; the reveal etc. Kagami was rubbing her back, evidently still new to this close contact.

"Ok Marinette it's going to be okay, let's start with your makeup, then your hair, and then we can put on your dress!" Sabine soothed, planning out the next hour. Chloé and Juleka took the hint and started popping open lipsticks and eyeshadow palettes, deciding what's would compliment her best, whilst Kagami let Sabine take over her position and started laying out and plugging in curling irons and hairspray on the chaise.

Tom brought up macarons on a plate with some warm milk, forcing Marinette to have some sugar. She eventually calmed down enough for Chloé and Juleka to start applying her foundation and eyeshadow, as well as for Luka to show Kagami how to curl hair and paint nails. They finished after about 1/2 an hour, and Marinette stared at herself in awe as she gazed at her mirror. She had large curls, with a natural eyeshadow look and fierce scarlet lip. Luka had gone to the additional effort of painting her nails black to match his.

Sabine had smoothed out her dress and steamed it, and she slipped into a short ladybug themed dress, so she could really grab the crowd's attention at first, and then slip into her final look prior to the show.

Their limo pulled up outside again, Marinette's final outfit barely fitting in with the rest of them, and they drove off, preparing Marinette for the onslaught of Paparazzi that would greet them. She handed out their masks-a black one for Juleka, a red on for Kagami, white for Chloé and green for Luka. She tied her red one behind her head to conceal her identity in unison with the rest, and took a deep breath. Tom and Sabine were to arrive as guests so were granted their identities, and were simply there to make sure they arrived safely.

The limo stopped, and Marinette's breath hitched. Chloé grabbed her hand and reminded her of their red carpet rules.

"And lastly-you look gorgeous."

"You do too Chloé."

They smiled, and the car door opened. Luka and Juleka hugged her, whilst Kagami whispered that "no-no you may not wait for us to leave and then yell drive," a little too threateningly for comfort as she stepped out.

Marinette eventually shuffled over to the door as Luka left, and was helped out by the chauffeur. She was blinded by the flashes of cameras and clambering questions from tabloids and newspapers alike. She went through what Chloé has advised.

_"Walk to the group. Pose."_

She placed her hand on her hip as she stood in the midst of her models, and let her head fall back for the cameras.

_"Count to 3. Sashay forward with us. Pose."_

She walked about 5 metres forward and posed again-the doors were nearly within reach.

_"Count to 5 this time-then escape!"_

She borderline ran to the door to escape the pressing questions and flew into the venue, removing her mask and sprinting to the dressing room, closely followed by the other 4. She thrust their suits at them and barked at them to get changed, whilst she prepared the other outfits for the quick changes that would ensue. They stripped themselves of their gowns and formal wear into their tailored power outfits, which resulted in them feeling significantly calmer. There was half an hour before they were set to go, and they were supposed to be following Gabriel's newest collection and closing the night.

So yeah-Marinette was mildly dying.

They grabbed their outfits and rushed to the model lineup. Gabriel's line was a few minutes from finishing, only two more looks to go. The penultimate model stepped into the runway, and the final model rolled their shoulders back, and fidgeted about with nerves, their blonde hair standing out in the dim lighting backstage. They kind of looked like-

"Adrien?"

"Kagami?"

Kagami threw herself at him, and kissed him on the cheek, before reeling back in embarrassment at her forward approach, and offering her hand to shake and striking up a casual conversation, though it was interrupted by Adrien needing to go. He gave Marinette a quick nod, to which she returned, before he disappeared into the light.

"I've been his friend since birth but do I get a nod? I mean-where's the loyalty?" Chloé muttered, before noticing how Luka's arm had crept around Marinette's waist.

"Wow Luka-smooth," she teased, before cackling with Juleka at their friends' blushing faces. Adrien soon came off stage, only to be reprimanded by his childhood friend for not acknowledging her, and for his girlfriend to pluck up the courage to peck him on the lips as a "congratulations" to the sounds of cheering.

Meanwhile outside, an Italian and an auburn-haired girl were in a screaming match with the guards. Lila had started crying 10 minutes ago, begging that there had been some mistake and that they had VIP tickets up front provided by _the_ MDC, her boyfriend, who could get them in trouble if they didn't do their jobs. Alya was looking up every law she could in order to find any loophole in which she could get in. She was also yelling that Lila's mother was an ambassador and could have lawsuits for them if they didn't accept their entrance. Everyone else had gone in or left, and they were standing outside in the dark and cold, trying to get into this exclusive showing, which by the way...

_...Only 10 minutes until showtime..._

—-

**Fashion show and reveal next chapter! Sorry for this chapter taking forever! But at least it's not my other story (yes I know-I do need to update that too...)! See you soon (hopefully) xxx**


	8. MDC'S Fashion Show

**Me: why do people keep nagging me to upload?**

**Also me: *doesn't post for a month***

**Sorry...**

**Shorter chapter here, hopefully next will come soon!**

**Xxx**

—-

MDC REVEAL TONIGHT!

THE LIFE OF A DESIGNER DURING FASHION WEEK

WHO IS MDC?

...

..._Only 10 minutes until showtime._..

Marinette was panicking. Gabriel Agreste was going to see this, Audrey Bourgeois was going to talk about this, and Lila's kingdom was going to come toppling down in _10 minutes._

Scratch that.

Lila's kingdom was going to come toppling down in _9 minutes_.

Marinette was snapped out of her frenzy by Chloé clicking her fingers in front of her face.

"Did I say you could panic MDC? No-therefore you are not allowed to panic about this until I say so. So just calm down and let Juleka panic about it for you."

"Why me?!"

"I don't know you're closest babes," Chloé shrugged.

_8 minutes._

Marinette breathed deeply. Luka grabbed his phone and played a recording of her song. Marinette's breathing got slightly steadier the more it played, slightly swaying to the rhythm.

_7 minutes._

"Hey shouldn't we put these on?" Kagami asked, pointing at the masks.

"Oh yes I completely forgot!" Marinette nervously giggled, handing them out and watching as they all tied the ribbon into bows at the back.

_6 minutes_.

"Are we sure there's enough time in between outfits for us to change?" Kagami queried.

_5 minutes_.

"Don't make her panic even more Kagami! Marinette I'm sure there is time don't worry," Chloé reassured.

_4 minutes._

Juleka tucked a lock of hair behind Chloe's ear.

_3 minutes_.

Luka cuffed his sleeves.

_2 minutes_.

Marinette dusted down Kagami's suit.

_1 minute_.

"Good luck," whispered Adrien.

"Thank you," Marinette mouthed back.

_Zero_.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to MDC'S first fashion show!" A booming voice greeted the crowd, to which the audience began clapping loudly. "They have taken the industry by storm, and tonight, you will witness their reveal, as you all know they are anonymous! Without further a due-MDC!"

Marinette signalled to Kagami, who then pulled herself up the steps to the catwalk in her suit, the deep red contrasting her navy blue hair. The audience smiled as she reached the end of the catwalk, posing, and spun around, constantly exuding power and determination. She sighed as she walked off, nodding to Luka, before throwing off her blazer and polo neck and changing into her casual outfit.

Luka was up next, casually walking up and down the runway, looking effortlessly perfect in his grey suit (half the girls were swooning an "utterly ridiculous" amount according to Chloé later).

Juleka followed up after her brother, her purple pencil skirt and blazer combo making the business women in the room take notes at the sleek professionalism it radiated, as well as how feminine it looked. She was shaking as she left the floor-who wouldn't after living their life-long dream?

Chloé tossed her hair, smirking as the lights hit her white suit, and her gold jewellery blinded the crowd. They "oohed" when she made it to the end as they finally were able to see the stunning design in all its glory. She flipped her hair once again as she spun back around, sashaying back.

She high-fived Kagami, setting her off onto the runway again in her short skirt and shirt combination. The teen girls that had been dragged here by their parents nodded in approval at the chic "French girl" look, wondering how a red beret who look with it.

Luka caused a girl to faint when he presented his outfit, his dark overcoat giving him a sense of mystery (MDC really did know how to cater to her audience).

Juleka's gorgeous lace top was envied by several women, several of whom looked at their current outfit, begging that they'd be able to try it on afterwards.

Chloé's abnormally casual outfit made a few teens perk up, the girls because it was cool and the boys because damn that model looks cute.

Marinette gave a thumbs up to Kagami before she left for her last solo catwalk. Her dress swirled around her on the runway, and she showed her rare smile as she spun around at the end. She bowed and swept off the runway, now full on grinning.

Luka ran his fingers through his hair as he came into the audience's eye. His more formal suit stood out against the plain backdrop behind him, the emerald colour bringing out his matching eyes, making him look particularlyattractive.

Juleka's soft footsteps against the runway reached the end, where upon she took in the feeling for the last time of her modelling dream for the last time, placing her hands on her hips for a final pose, then sharply turning around and strutting off in her purple mermaid gown.

Chloé blew Marinette a quick kiss, before regaining her model posture. Juleka smiled softly at her, then allowing her to take over. Chloé pulled up her gloves, and walked on.

The crowd instantly recognised the inspiration behind her golden dress, several people realising that it was THE Queen Bee modelling it. She twirled at the end, then curtsied, silently thanking them all for having her serve them and model this dress for them. She regained her power stance, and sashayed off to the cheers from the audience.

Marinette breathed deeply, replaying Luka's voice in her head, and Juleka's reassuring words.

"AND NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME TONIGHT, REVEALING THEIR ANONYMOUS IDENTITY, MDC!"

"Do I just go on now?!" Marinette asked.

"Yeah, they're waiting for you!"

"You'll be fine"

"Let's go!" Her friends encouraged.

Marinette took a deep breath...

...And walked on.

She was wearing a flowing red tulle ball gown, which complimented her red lace mask. Her arms were folded, shoulders back, head down as she strutted down the catwalk. Despite her defensive stance, she controlled the room, and radiated confidence. She reached the end of the runway, her breathing slightly shaky. She could hear the clicks of shoes as Kagami, Luka, Juleka and Chloé filed out behind her, separating into pairs at each end of the "T" shaped runway.

Silence.

"Thank you all for coming to my first fashion show, and first fashion week. As you know, I promised to reveal myself to the public, and I intend to keep that promise. So," she announced, unfolding her arms and raising them to her face, "without further a due," she said as she untied the mask, causing people to gasp at her youth.

"MY NAME IS MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG AND GOODNIGHT!"

—

**I'll try and update the aftermath as soon as possible (though don't hold your breath). Love you xxxx**

**(Yes I know I'm evil).**


End file.
